Giving people with disabilities the power to control objects with their minds, automating breast health monitoring and a wireless injectable device for connected drug delivery services are among the innovative technologies being developed by the eight semifinalists selected for the Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge.
The Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge brings together leading-edge startups with prominent health and life sciences organizations to tackle some of the world’s greatest health challenges including access, affordability and transparency. The eight semifinalists were chosen from more than 500 applicants by leading industry executives from many of the largest health and life sciences companies in the world.
"We're extremely impressed with the energy and enthusiasm the startups have demonstrated when creating solutions that could disrupt the way traditional care is provided," said Anne O'Riordan, senior managing director of Accenture Life Sciences and co-author of Healthcare Disrupted. "It's exciting to work with the entrepreneurs because, like Accenture, they picture a future where technology solutions not only arm the health industry with far-more-sophisticated, fine-tuned data but also improve the lives of patients and provide better outcomes for healthcare providers."
The Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge semi-finalists are:
- BrainControl, which fills a technological void for patients that are cognitively aware, but unable to move or communicate. Based on the proprietary Brain-Computer Interface technology, it aims to give people with certain disabilities the power to control objects with their minds, allowing them to control a communicator, domestic devices (lights, doors, windows, alarms, temperature, bed positions, etc.), wheelchairs, and other assistive technology.
- CaptureProof, a medical camera that aims to mitigate Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy risk by providing a visual narrative by putting photos, videos, chat and sensor data directly in the hands of patients and their doctors to better enable more efficient care, communications and collaboration to monitor progress, assess in historical health context and decide on optimal healthcare approach.
- Cupris Health, which has developed smartphone technologies connected to medical devices and a secure software platform to better enable doctors to discuss patient cases remotely and patients to receive diagnoses and advice from doctors without having to see the doctor in person. This can reduce unnecessary and expensive face-to-face consultations in developed countries and extends medical expertise to those living in remote areas in developing countries who might have limited access to care.
- InnaMed, which helps patients get their blood tests carried out in the waiting room at the doctor’s office and even in the emergency room before they see a doctor, enabling their caregiver to receive instant analysis.
- MedxNote, which aims to provide a secure and HIPPA-compliant communication platform for doctors and healthcare providers to use features and tools that help maximize productivity and workflow. The platform employs Mexbot, a chat bot that connects doctors and nurses to hospital data from labs, radiology, and electronic medical records to improve patient care.
- Noona, a mobile service supporting the remote monitoring of cancer patients and real-world data collection to track symptoms and well-being between hospital visits. It provides pharmaceutical companies with patient reported outcomes data during clinical trials that can help with assessing the value of new treatments.
- QuiO, which has developed a real-time, wireless injection device and cloud platform for connected drug delivery devices, providing connected software for monitoring, engaging and supporting patients taking injectable therapies.
- UE LifeSciences, Inc., a company that designs and develops point-of-care, easy-to-use and affordable cancer detection tools for use in the developing world, It has created the iBreastExam, an FDA-approved, hand-held, battery powered, wireless mHealth solution for early detection of breast lesions for use by public and private health agencies.
"We will continue to connect startups from the Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge with our clients to help foster new ideas and drive rapid, low-cost solutions to the industry’s toughest challenges as part of our Health Open Innovation Ecosystem," said Brian Kalis, managing director of digital health at Accenture.
Selected finalists will deliver live presentations during the Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge final round and awards ceremony to an exclusive panel of judges, including representatives from Aetna, AmerisourceBergen, Anthem, Bupa, Cardinal Health, Merck, Mercy, Kaiser Permanente, Novartis, Shire, and UCB. The top entrants will gain exposure and access to leading companies in their target market or therapeutic area. They will also be offered the opportunity to participate in StartUp Health's Launchpad program.
The final judging round will take place at the StartUp Health Festival in San Francisco on January 9, 2017, during the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference and will be livestreamed online at Facebook.com/StartUpHealth. Accenture is the lead Innovation Partner of the festival, which brings together more than 2,000 of the world's leading healthcare innovators and investors.
This program from Accenture Health and Life Sciences is tied to Accenture Ventures, which identifies the most promising sources of innovation in the market, using an open innovation approach that involves working with start-ups, entrepreneurs, investors, academic R&D, and corporate R&D groups around the world. Accenture Ventures is a key element of the Accenture Innovation Architecture which brings together the company's capabilities - from research, ventures and labs to studios, innovation centers and delivery centers - to develop and deliver disruptive innovations for clients, and to scale them faster.
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